


The Thoughts of a Wasteland Wanderer's Companion

by Anonymous



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: From Arcade's pov, I think theyre buddies, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, maybe a little ooc i havent touched new vegas in too long but i miss them all, the title is trash its 3am and im a fool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 11:17:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20674496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: When Arcade first met the courier at the Old Mormon Fort he really didn't know what to expect of her. Now, after spending weeks travelling the Mojave together, he STILL can't wrap his head around the wild son of a bitch he's gotten stuck with.





	The Thoughts of a Wasteland Wanderer's Companion

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I'm not sure where I'm going with this or why I wanted to write it. I haven't played FNV in like, 2 years, but I'm getting it again later today so in honor of that I'm writing a shitty fic about one of my favorite snarky gay idiots in the Mojave hanging out with my equally gay "dumbest smart lady you'll ever meet" courier oc from my main playthrough. I try to incorporate real dialogue/interactions you would have with arcade in game but I take some liberties with events to better fit her personality a bit so go easy on any discrepancies you may see.

When they had first met, Arcade really didn't know what to think. Well, he knew what he thought, but it wasn't necessarily anything special. "Just another dirty old waster deciding to be nosy for some godforsaken reason I would never fathom" was what he told himself. He had no reason to trust her, it wasn't anything personal, it was just a simple fact that most of the people in the Mojave didn't really care about the good of others, it was a dog eat dog world in the wasteland after all. Though unlike most the wasters who came around she kept coming back. Helping ease tensions between Freeside residents and the NCR, helping addicts turn their lives around, even consistently bringing necessary supplies to help with Julie's burdens. Yet even after all of that, he was still taken aback by their next interaction.

"You should like, totally come with me! You're a doctor.. or at least like, a scientist researching medicine.. which I guess is kinda the same thing..? Whatever it's basically the same thing and if you come along we could totally help loads more people!!!" She fumbled with her words and her reasoning was surprisingly idealistic(ironic, coming from a Follower he knows) but he couldn't necessarily dispute what she said. He would be able to more efficiently remedy current issues with a hands-on approach, and he had only heard good things about her from others who traveled through the area. Sure, the busted up and rickety old eyebot made him a little uneasy but it couldn't be that bad.

It didn't take long roaming together for Arcade to realize he had severely underestimated the woman he traveled with. He knew she was at least relatively kindhearted and idealistic, but that just made him assume she was naive to go with it, and was abruptly proven wrong at every turn. She was vicious, never standing down from a fight and having the persuasive skills, technological expertise, and overall gun slinging capabilities to back it all up. Though he also found that a natural counterforce to balance this skill was her- "Hey Arcade, do you think if I were to kick a landmine with enough force I could send it flying before it blew up?" "Hey, hey Arcade. How far do you think a cazador would launch if I hit it with a baseball bat??" "HEY ARCADE. DO YOU THINK I'LL BE ABLE TO STICK THE LANDING IF I JUMP OFF THIS MOUNTAIN TOWARDS YOU!?" -overwhelmingly stupid impulsiveness. Yet even with the characteristics of an impulsive disaster, she was still one of the smartest and most dependable people he had managed to meet in all of the Mojave, so he couldn't rightfully complain TOO much about it all. Not that he would ever say that to her face, he couldn't let it get to her head.

The thought had been gnawing at him since they met. Something about Bea always felt... familiar to him. Her mannerisms, the way she carried herself, nervous tics that she couldn't quite break that seemed out of character. It reminded him of himself, when he had been younger, and before his mother and other members of his little "family" had found a way to help make himself more comfortable in his own skin. He never asked, it felt intrusive to interrogate a companion about something so personal based on nothing more than a hunch, but his suspicions were all but confirmed on a visit to Jacobstown. It was barely there and yet Arcade was able to catch the subtle cringe in Bea's features when the big nightkin named Lily would lose herself and refer to her as "grandson Jimmy" as if it wasn't the first time she had been mistakenly referred to as a man by a family figure. Arcade had a feeling that he needed to talk to her after that, that he needed to communicate with her that they had more similarities than she might have realized, and that they could support each other accordingly because of that. Of course, in typical Bea fashion, she was explosively ecstatic to find out that that was the case. Arcade assumed it was partially because there were so few people like them in the wastes, and partially because she had been afraid if the truth ever came to light that her newfound companion would have left her for being unnatural. He understood the feelings of both rather well.

A lot of time has passed since the seemingly uneventful meeting took place in the fort, and things have changed a lot in Arcade in that time. He's managed to connect with Bea more than he ever expected to, despite her surface appearance she has the necessary knowledge to match him in ways most wouldn't be able to. Thanks to her he reconnected with the remnants of the Enclave, a family he thought he may never see again, and found a new family with her other companions that gather at the Lucky 38 when not actively working. The lot of them are an interesting mixed bag, but they support and care for one another like a real family would, all thanks to some wild courier who gets herself into more trouble than any one human should feasibly be able to. It's been a long, winding road and Arcade still can't wrap his head around her sometimes, and even though he isn't quite sure what to think of her, he believes in her and her goals, and will support her until the bitter(or happy, as she always insists it will be) end.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay real talk I just wanted to write a bit of a drabble but this dragged on for 2 hours of writing at about 3 in the morning so it got a little out there at the end but, I hope if you read it all you enjoyed? and can take a moment to remember that Arcade is a fantastic bastard who deserves love and respect.


End file.
